Cathedral Termite vs Cylindrical Bark Hister

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Cathedral Termite Cylindrical Bark Hister
Scientific Name Nasutitermes triodiae Teretrius fabricii
Order Blattodea Coleoptera
Family Termitidae Histeridae
Size 5-7 mm 2-3 mm
Habitat Grasslands Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Oceania Europe, North America (introduced)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Cathedral Termite

Builds enormous mound structures up to 8 meters tall — the tallest structures relative to builder size of any animal. Mounds have sophisticated ventilation and temperature regulation.

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Did You Know?

Proportionally, termite mounds are the tallest structures built by any animal — if humans built at the same scale, our buildings would be over 1.5 km tall.

Cylindrical Bark Hister

A tiny, cylindrical hister beetle that lives under bark of dead trees. Its elongated shape allows it to follow bark beetle tunnels.

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Did You Know?

It was intentionally introduced to North America from Europe to help control the smaller European elm bark beetle.